A Business Insider reporter who installed an air conditioner in 2018 checked how much the device actually adds to his electricity bill during summer heat. The figures show that keeping a flat cool comes at a clearly measurable cost.
The journalist’s flat is located on the top floor of a building, directly under the roof and with skylight windows, which makes cooling especially challenging. During the hottest periods, running the unit for about eight hours a day costs 8.24 zlotys per day. If the air conditioner worked this way for 20 days a month, the cooling bill alone would reach around 274.20 zlotys, assuming steady daily operation.
Running costs are not the only expense. An annual inspection and servicing of the air conditioner typically costs between 200 and 500 zlotys, depending on the scope of work.
How to cut cooling costs
There is a way to lower these expenses. Tauron reports that nearly 60,000 households switched from a single-zone tariff to one of the multi-zone tariffs in the first half of this year, twice as many as in the same period in previous years. One of the most frequently chosen multi-zone groups in Tauron is G13, which offers cheaper electricity at weekends and during selected hours on working days.
Tauron’s specialists calculated how much cooling costs under different conditions. At a daytime high of 36 degrees Celsius, running the air conditioner costs 9.32 zlotys a day in the G11 tariff. In the G13 tariff, that can be reduced to 5.99 zlotys on a day off and 8.28 zlotys on a working day. When the daytime maximum is 28 degrees Celsius, daily cooling in G11 is 4.08 zlotys, while G13 cuts it to 2.62 zlotys on a free day and 3.64 zlotys on a working day.
All air conditioners sold in the EU have been required to include a heating function since 2010, so such devices can also work as air-source heat pumps and provide warmth in colder months.
Political debate over air conditioning
Repeated heatwaves across Europe have sparked a discussion about wider access to air conditioning, especially in places most exposed to high temperatures. In France, Eric Ciotti, leader of the Union of the Right party supporting the far-right National Rally, proposed legislation that would require air conditioning to be installed in schools, medical facilities and senior care homes.
Marine Le Pen also said that if she wins the presidential election, she would introduce a broad programme to develop air conditioning, arguing that the issue is a matter of public health.
Source: WNP.PL, Photo: Shutterstock/Media
